Pink fluffy bardot jumper, Harajuku earrings and houndstooth trousers | Outfit

It's been over two months since I've done an outfit post! The main reason for this being when it's cold I will always forego looking stylish to ward off frostbite. This morning I woke up to a snowy Tokyo too, and while I did wear this I had a giant thick duffle coat over the top the entire day because it's so cold! I'm also travelling to Korea next month where it is going to be about -5, so I imagine outfit posts are gonna stay few and far between.

This jumper was part of my Christmas ASOS haul and is soo fluffy, it has actually got fluffier since I washed it too! Earrings are from a shop in Harajuku (literally everytime I go there I resist the urge to buy everything) and trousers are from Forever 21. Hope everyone is enjoying the snow if you have it where you are! xx

A day trip to Odawara Castle | Japan

While I was on winter hols we took a day trip to Odawara to see the castle there, which is one of the only (or the only) in the greater Tokyo area. It was really interesting to see a Japanese castle as obviously we are spoilt for choice with them in Europe, but they differ a lot in Japan. Disappointingly the inside of the castle is just a museum rather than set up how the castle would actually be lived in, but it was still pretty amazing to see. I also made a little vlog of the day above if you want to check it out. Plus Odawara is by a bay so we went for a wander on the beach at the end of the day, pretty amazing! xx

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Czech food in Tokyo | Japan

The other day a couple of friends and I visited a Czech restaurant in Tokyo! I'm actually struggling to locate it on google now but it was near the Vietnamese Embassy if anyone is interested, it's a tiny place with about 3 tables so it may actually have no internet presence haha. We went because my friend is Czech, I've never actually had Czech food before it was delicious! I had the stew above which was delish and reminded me quite a bit of the stews my Mum makes actually. Also I had apple strudel for dessert which was SO good. There seemed to be only two women working there and our food came pretty fast, so the service was pretty good too.

Have you tried Czech food before? xx

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FOTD #33 | A super quick subtle smokey eye using MAC, Maybelline, Acessorize and Urban Decay

Maybelline the Rocket Volum' Express mascara, Maybelline Lasting Drama black shock eyeliner, Urban Decay Primer potion, MAC Stovepipe black, Accessorize 'with love' palette

This was a really quick look I did in about 15 mins, which is impressive for me because usually doing my make up takes forever faffing about watching YouTube videos at the same time. I only used two shades, MAC Stovepipe black (which is a matte shadow that isn't that intense unless you really pack it on) for the crease and under the eye and then just a little bit of the silver shade from the Accessorize 'with love' palette. The colours are soo pretty and have pretty good payoff , they do need a primer but I definitely want to try more of their palletes!

Also idk what happened to my hair, I curled it in about 5 seconds and it decided to go 90 degrees on one side, but such is life xx

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2014 beauty favourites ♥

Okay this is kinda a cheat post because I'm including my December favourites in this post, but these are the beauty bits and bobs that I loved in 2014.

Face

Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24H

Bobbi Brown colour corrector

Real Techniques power brush

Sleek contour kit in light

Eyes

Ardell demi wispies lashes

ELF beautybook Neutral eye edition

Urban Decay primer potion

MAC liquidlast

Hair

L'oreal extraordinary oil

L'oreal Elnette heat protect styling spray

Skincare

Neutrogena Hand Cream

Lush Grease Lightning

Guinot Creme pur Equilibre

Lips

Topshop Ohh La La lipstick

Lipcote lipstick sealant

The revlon 'balm' ranges in general

And my overall favourite...

Lush honey trap lip balm

If you had to choose one favourite beauty product from 2014, what would it be? xx

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What on my iPhone? | Tech

I always find it really interesting to see what people have on their phones app-wise, so here's my version!

Case c/o Mr NutCase, Hello Kitty/Bunny birthstone phone charm (April is diamond hollaaa) from Odawara castle

I always have something cute and bright for my iPhone background, if you go on your phone and google 'kawaii/tumblr/cute' backgrounds you'll find similar. I don't think there's anything particularly exciting about my main screen! I actually survive solely off 3G and Wifi here in Japan, it's very hard for foreigners to get phone contracts and as you can make calls with other apps I won't be calling anyone using actual signal for a while!

Messaging, Japanese Learning and Lifestyle

Messaging- Whatsapp is obvious, everyone has it - I use this to message friends and family at home. Facebook messenger too is pretty much a given. Line is the Asian version of Whatsapp which I use to talk with friends in Japan and other foreign students, it's better developed than Whatsapp in my opinion and includes the function to call people for free using the internet and has loads of Line only emojis in-app which are uber cute (and sometimes confusing).

Japanese Learning - Imiwa is an app that if you are a Japanese learner chances you'll have heard of it or have it. It's a massive Japanese dictionary that doesn't require internet, I use this daily - whether I'm doing homework or in the supermarket trying to figure out what the hell something is. *Helpful Hint* if you download the Chinese - Simplified Handwriting keyboard you can draw in kanji (characters) you don't know (the keyboard has very good recognition too) and imiwa will tell you what they mean in seconds! Anki is a flashcard app which is seriously good, it also has a website counterpart which syncs with your phone. I input new words I learn and test myself before bed/on the train. Warning this app is excruciatingly expensive for iPhone users - £17!! I believe it's free for Android users though.

Lifestyle - I don't actually use the Tumblr app but I like the fact it gives me notifications when someone follows me. Depop  I was using to sell things but I just don't really enjoy this app (see my review of Depop vs eBay HERE). I'm not selling while I'm in Tokyo but I use the eBay app to mark dispatch notices and talk to buyers when I sell things. Cloth is like Instagram for your wardrobe - see my review of it HERE. My data manager tells you how much data you're using which is pretty useful but I've recently discovered the iPhone will tell you this anyways so I will probably be deleting this.

Photography and Games

Photography - Instagram and snapchat are pretty obvious ones, I don't use Snapchat that often - I've only just got it back after a weightloss company hacked me and messaged everyone in my contacts weightloss adverts constantly. PhotoCollage is a freebie app that allows you to put multiple photos together in interesting ways, I sometimes use this for instagram. Lumie allows you to put cute filters on things (like the heart lights, Bokeh I think they're called?) but I didn't use it enough so I deleted this recently. Line Camera is awesome it has loads of beautification options and tons of stickers to edit photos which are super cute! Face Cam is a beautification app which I occasionally use on selfies to improve my skin, but it also has options to make your eyes bigger and chin sharper etc - can make you look pretty weird if you go too overboard.

Games - Fruit Ninja, Doodle Jump, Angry Birds and Fall Down are crazy addictive. Great boredom busters. I don't really play Angry Birds anymore though as fittingly, it makes me angry. DragonVale is one of those FarmVille type games where you hatch dragon eggs and have in game pay-for-things options which I may have bought before (the shame). I don't really play this anymore at all but haven't deleted the app out of fondness for my dragons, #khaleesiproblems.

Do you use any of these apps or have any recommendations for me? xx

A day in Kamakura + seeing the great buddha/大仏! | Japan

Had another little day out in Japan! I also did another little vlog so take a look at that if you want to feel more what the place is like :) We're on winter break at the moment, so last week some friends and I headed to Kamakura (about 2 hrs by train) to see the sights, especially the Great Buddha at the Kotokuin temple. If you're interested in temples and shrines Kamakura is definitely an awesome place to visit as asides from Kotokuin there's plenty to look around. There's also a station called Hase right by the Great Buddha which will save you a walk, as we got off at Kamakura station (I believed it's called) and walked for a bit to get to Kotokuin, but it meant we passed a Starbucks haha so I didn't mind!

The Great Buddha statue is really beautiful, apparently despite being made in 1252 the statue itself has never required repairs, only the base - surprising! Also you can pay 20 yen (11p) to go inside the Buddha and take a look around which was pretty interesting.

There's also lots of shops which are fab for getting souvenirs, there's a market street by the station which was crazy busy (see the video) but there were so many things to see/buy/eat! Great for buying stuff for yourself or people at home. xx

Frozen inspired manicure/ アナと雪の女王ネイル | Nails

Just a quick glitter tipped mani for the winter! I used my Revlon polish I got from their lucky dip bag, which is a really pretty colour. I personally think the Revlon Parfumerie polishes are super gimmicky, you need quite a few coats to build up the colour and they don't have amazing staying power before they chip - however the packaging and different scents are definitely a selling point. This one has a sort of fresh smell to it, not exactly the sea but still nice! FYI with the Parfumerie polishes don't stick your nose into the bottle to see what it smells like (you will essentially be sniffing fumes), wait til it dries on your nails and then the scent comes out properly!

Anything with glitter is so messy, I keep finding glitter in my scalp (glitter dandruff, sexy) and even in my knickers (#beautybloggerproblems) after doing this mani but you do what ya gotta do for sparkly nails! xx

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Maybelline Lasting Drama Black Shock Gel liner - Benefit They're Real push up liner dupe? | Review

I've been in two minds about this product for a while but overall I quite like this, mainly because of it's similarity in concept to the Push Up liner, but much cheaper price tag! So this liner basically has the same concept of the Push Up Liner, gel eyeliner in a tube than comes out of a flexi brush/nib. Originally when I bought the liner the product took a crazy number of twists to come out but now only takes one or two, occasionally bits flake out of the nib but  mostly the product is very creamy and is a very opaque black.





The best thing about this product is the ease of application when drawing the main line, I find it cuts down my eyeliner time by about half! However it has quite a steep learning curve when making the cat eye flick and defined lines, but you do get there in the end. I do often find I can't get a perfect line so clear up ragedy edges using make up remover and a cotton bud. I also find it quite hard to make a sharp cat eye flick with this pen, while it is quick to apply because the nib is so soft it makes it hard to be precise until you've used it for a while.



In terms of staying power as it is a gel it has better resistance to water, watery eyes won't move this, and it withstands light rain. I also find that it lasts a good day and won't be all over the place by the time you get home. 

However after a long period of wear I do notice very faint transferring to the brow bone (only visible if you scrutinise) and a little bit around the outer corner of the eye but again this is pretty unnoticeable. 

Pros
- price tag (£8.99 compared to push up liner £18.50)
- ease of application initially
- opacity of product (very black)
- water resistant

Cons
- product dries out a bit and flakes on application sometimes
- steep learning curve to create detailed/defined strokes and sharp cat eye flicks
- transfers faintly onto brow bone after long period of wear
- occasionally product pushes out of the nib while sealed

Personally this is my daily liner at the moment and while it takes a while to get used to using it I like it more and more! Have you used this or Benefit's Push Up liner? xx


Edit: Changed this review a few days after posting as I actually liked it a lot more than previously thought, felt I reviewed it unfairly. 

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